Any concerns anybody have on why they haven’t made their Kickstarter pledge yet for Spark? Looks like there is still about 60 units left in the first batch for $8000. Just curious what the rest of the community thinks.
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I have made my pledge but also curious why individuals may have not pledge yet. My initial thoughts was that because this is a kickstarter 7.5k to 9k usd I wouldn’t back this until after. But then the price was increased so ik just taking a chance to secure one for this price if all goes well. I’m honestly hoping this can compete with freefly ember 5k.
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Yeah you saved about $400 (minus the $100) deposit. There’s still plenty of units left. 57 or so for the first batch for $8000 so I’ll wait for a more critical review.
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I HAVE pledged, but I know that I have until the end of the Kickstarter to cancel that pledge and deeply understand the reticence of people to shell out $8k on an untested company. That comes with massive risk. I think the previous maximum I’ve pledged on a kickstarter was $2100 for a Valerion projector (which was a subsidiary of an existing short-throw projector company AWOL.) That connection to AWOL made the investment feel much less risky, but more than anything Valerion FLOODED YouTube with independent reviews in the weeks coming into and during their Kickstarter. It was showing up on every major reviewer’s channel and getting rave reviews.
In my personal opinion, Pixboom has erred in the timing of their Kickstarter release and should have waited to open for pledges after reviews were ready or already released. It takes time for word to spread online, so you want the word (reviews) to be out there generating intense interest during the entire Kickstarter campaign. They have posted again today saying that something is coming next week, but that’s two weeks into a Kickstarter campaign, and we don’t know if it’s just one reviewer or multiple that they’re referring to.
And as you’ve pointed out, you’d like to see more footage examples (specifically RAW). Yes there are a few… but for a camera that has appeared at trade shows already and seems to have multiple real world prototypes, there should be so much more footage readily on display when a Kickstarter kicks off.
I like the Pixboom team, their passion, their collaborative approach with filmmakers, their attentiveness and the quality of their marketing videos so far. However, the way things are rolling out does expose their relative inexperience in making the most of a Kickstarter. If you’re asking someone to invest $8,000 in your start up company with zero guarantee of return… no matter how exciting the PROMISE of the technology, you absolutely have to overwhelm investors with hard evidence that your product lives up to those promised capabilities. You do that by putting it into the hands of as many trusted reviewers as possible BEFORE launch.
I really hope they ramp up fast and get MULTIPLE reviews and more footage up ASAP, because without that I imagine that a lot of us will choose to cancel our pledges before mid-October. 
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Absolutely agree with everything you’ve said here. The passion and potential behind Pixboom are clear, and I really want to see them succeed—but asking for an $8K pledge without substantial third-party validation is a huge ask.
Launching before reviews are ready does seem like a misstep. First impressions matter, and this was a prime opportunity to build buzz and credibility through trusted reviewers. Even just a handful of in-depth, independent reviews early on would have gone a long way. I think they overestimated how much the $8000 super early bird batch would sell since there’s still a good amount left. I thought it would’ve sold out within the first week or less. If I were them, I would just lower down the MSRP from $12999 to $8000 just to get more orders after the Kickstarter.
I’m in the same boat—supportive, excited, but cautious. I’ll be watching closely over the next week or two to see what kind of content and feedback rolls out. If they can pivot quickly and get strong reviews out there, it could still turn around. But without that, it’s going to be tough to justify sticking with such a large pledge.
With that said, I’m glad Pixboom is entering the market as it will force Krontech and potentially Freefly to come up with 4K slowmo products that will be in the $5000 - $6000 range to help compete against the Spark in the future. We live in exciting times.
Fingers crossed they step up fast. The tech looks incredible, but now it’s about proving it with RAW, RAW and more RAW! I know they posted a few RAW clips but that is not enough considering we’ve been asking for this many months before. Again, I love the Pixboom team and I’m a very enthusiastic contributor to the community, probably one of the most active on here that they are tired of seeing my posts! Lol They are obviously a young, talented and driven set up individuals, and I admire their courage and guts entering the slowmo market to bring this kind of tech more easily to the consumer masses. Wishing them the best, and I hope I’ll make the pledge soon.
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Do you shoot on Freefly Ember right now?
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Thank you for your support—you won’t be disappointed! 
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Spark now has 290 backers! Many creators have participated in our offline events, experiencing the camera’s charm firsthand—from Dubai to Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Milan, and Berlin. Of course, online media coverage is equally crucial. You can see more and more Spark-related reviews appearing on Instagram and YouTube. This is an exciting journey where everyone moves forward together, encouraging and supporting each other! Let’s push the boundaries of slow motion forward together!
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pG8eOtmE7U
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-BauBQ6WdM
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gctd7reTgc
- https://www.instagram.com/reel/DPAgVxxiaJl/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=OTAxYmppbnVwNXZv
Just a small selection—more and more are coming!
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It’s 293 now! Looks like 50 units are left for the $8000 super early bird price. It’s getting near the decision making for me. Crunch time! hehe
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I have pledged, but also have some concerns and would like to see some reviews backing up some of the claims about the camera - in particular the claim of “13 stops of dynamic range”.
I suspect the sensor is the GPixel GSPrint 5514 which is capable of resolving 13 stops (78dB) of dynamic range, but only in its 12-bit DGO mode (up to 80fps open gate). GPixel claims 10.3 stops (61.9dB) in 10-bit mode (up to 670fps open gate) and 11 stops (66.4dB) in 12-bit mode (up to 350fps open gate, not yet implemented by Pixboom).
What I’d really like to see is a trusted reviewer running the camera through a latitude test (e.g. CVP) or with a XYLA chart (e.g. Gerald Undone) so we can see how it performs against other cameras.
Interestingly I suspect the Freefly Ember uses the related GPixel GSPrint 4521 sensor which has a similar dynamic range (in fact, about 0.25 stops higher than the 5514).
I wouldn’t expect a relatively affordable high frame-rate camera to perform as well as a good cine-camera or a modern hybrid camera (only some of which can shoot at a “lowly” 4K/120fps, and most of those that can are with reduced quality - line skipping, reduced DR, and/or a crop) but I do want to know what I’m sacrificing. The claimed 13 stops makes out this cost to be minimal but in reality I expect it to be closer to 3 stops. I hope to be proved wrong, and that the marketing material isn’t claiming a dynamic range which is “technically” achievable by the sensor but not actually implemented by the camera.
The reduced dynamic range isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for me, but if the sensor is indeed the GSPrint 5514 then I would be keen to see support for both the normal 12-bit mode and even the 12-bit DGO mode (for when I just want to shoot at normal frame rates).
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Interesting find about the Gpixel sensor being used potentially. It’s all conjecture at this point, but it closely matches up cause of the BSI spec and the 78.3 DB (13 stops in 12 BIG DGO) I see so theoretically at their highest frame rates at 10 bit, it’s only about 10.3 stops which is why I think it looks similar to the Chronos cameras (10 bit on Spark) I think but with the Spark having better noise control? Can @Young and @admin confirm this?
Also, what do you mean it being closer to 3 stops jpd30? You mean 10 stops?
13 stops is the claimed DR, and also a solid score for a consumer-grade video camera. I expect there to be a DR “cost” with a high speed sensor - if the actual DR is closer to 10 stops then I would say the “cost” is about 3 stops.
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So no wonder the highlight rolloff looks similar to the Chronos 4K12 (10 bit). The image is still better on the Spark in terms of dual iso and low light, but the highlght rolloff is still harsh in 10 bit. I was really hoping we were getting 13 stops at 10 bit as well and not just 12 bit DGO. I still hope I’m wrong about this, but that’s what I’m feeling and seeing based on David Zhou’s video.
Did they mention the other frame rates at differing resolutions when shooting in 12 bit DGO format?
I took the information from the GPixel website which has a few basic specs and a product flyer, but no detailed information (including on how frame rate varies with the sensor window).
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Yeah, that’s what I’m seeing too. It’s fun doing a little detective work to see and conjecture why we’re seeing that reduced dynamic range in 10 bit.
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It should still be possible to capture beautiful shots (as we’ve seen in much of the footage so far) but I expect to have less room for error with lighting and exposure than I’m used to with modern mirrorless cameras, and as a consequence have to deal with noisy shadows/clipped highlights more often.
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Oh no doubt! A lot of the images are decent and impressive. Like I said low light seems to be on a whole other level and I applaud them for that. I just wish they would’ve stated before hand, if this is true about the sensor that it’s only 13 stops if you’re shooting in 12 bit DGO.
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Hey, great points. I’ve been working in the field of camera noise systems and algorithm development for years, and I’ve had hands-on experience with sensors from various brands—Sony, Samsung, OmniVision, Gpixel, and others. So I’d like to share my perspective on noise and dynamic range in cameras.
First off, whether Spark uses this particular sensor is unknown—it just seems like the specs are somewhat similar. Even if Spark does use Gpixel’s sensor, many manufacturers customize, optimize, or selectively bin their sensors based on their specific requirements. As a result, the specs of a commercially available “off-the-shelf” sensor often don’t hold absolute authority.
But more importantly, here’s the key point I’d like to make:
Even if—hypothetically—Spark uses this sensor and it’s the standard off-the-shelf version, you still can’t directly use the sensor’s spec sheet to compare Spark’s performance against other cameras. This is because different sensor and camera manufacturers define noise and dynamic range in completely different ways. There’s no universal standard here.
- Comparing sensors from the same manufacturer: If you look at the specs for different GPixel sensors (like the 5514 and the 4521 you mentioned), you’ll notice that their dynamic range calculations are based on different operating temperatures. For example, the 5514 calculates dynamic range based on noise performance at significantly higher operating temperatures. Noise in a camera is strongly correlated with temperature, and the relationship is nonlinear. At 70°C, noise might be 10 times higher than at 60°C, and at 80°C, it could be 100 times higher than at 70°C. So comparing dynamic range without accounting for these differences isn’t fair. This also highlights another point: even if two camera manufacturers use the same sensor, their cameras may exhibit vastly different noise performance due to differences in thermal management systems (e.g., one camera might overheat easily, while another maintains stable temperatures). This directly impacts the dynamic range of the camera.
- How different camera manufacturers define dynamic range: This is a huge topic because definitions vary widely. Broadly speaking, dynamic range can be defined using three methods: SNR=2, SNR=1, and Sloped Base. You can think of Sloped Base as representing the maximum dynamic range achievable after post-processing. To my knowledge, manufacturers like RED, Sony, and Canon use Sloped Base to report their dynamic range. That means the camera’s native dynamic range might not match the claimed spec, but with post-processing (e.g., noise reduction software), the advertised dynamic range can be achieved. Among all manufacturers, Arri is unique in that it uses SNR=2 to define dynamic range. This is incredibly strict because it represents the dynamic range that can be achieved directly from the raw sensor data without extensive post-processing. This is one of the reasons Arri cameras are so expensive. I suspect Spark will follow the majority of manufacturers and use Sloped Base for its dynamic range claims, which is perfectly normal—RED does the same.
Finally, I’d like to share my thoughts on this: focusing on a camera’s absolute specs in one dimension (like dynamic range) is valuable, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The barriers to widespread adoption of high-speed cinematography have never been about dynamic range alone. It’s a much more complex, systemic issue that involves:
- Light sensitivity: This directly impacts lighting costs and whether outdoor shooting is feasible.
- Recording data volume: This affects the complexity of handling footage and whether the shooting experience feels similar to traditional cameras.
- Industrial and product design: Miniaturization, integration, and high levels of system optimization.
- Price: Making high-speed cameras accessible to more creators.
I’m genuinely excited to see Pixboom pushing boundaries and innovating in so many areas. I think this is why so many creators are willing to support them. After all, wasn’t RED once in a similar position, revolutionizing the industry with digital cinema?
Best wishes to you all!
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Hey, thanks for such a detailed breakdown—you’ve clearly got a ton of experience in this area, and I appreciate you sharing it. I completely agree with you on a few key points: specs on paper don’t always translate 1:1 into real-world performance, thermal design and processing pipelines matter just as much as the raw sensor, and the way manufacturers define dynamic range can vary wildly. Those are all very valid cautions when comparing cameras.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see more video. Like I said, my statements are purely based on conjecture, just as I’m sure jpd30’s are. From that first video David posted, the footage does look much closer to around 10 stops compared to 13. I’m hoping I’m wrong on this and that more optimization is done, but those are just my thoughts.
@young, these links are not useful: some of them are sponsored reviews, others don’t review, or have barely 2,5k followers, and the dubai review video did sky replacement (bad decision for a review). I need a neutral expert on the level of Philip Bloom, Gerald Undone or similar. I am starting to get worried for Pixboom to lose a lot of backers on the 16th of October if they don’t give us that.
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